Category Archives: Climate crisis

Are we facing a summer of sporting protests? – podcast

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High-profile protests at the Grand National and the World Snooker Championships made headlines around the country; the London Marathon could be next. Sean Ingle and Damien Gayle report on what sporting stunts can achieve – and whether the authorities can stop them

It began with a protest at Britain’s biggest horse racing event. Members of the activist group Animal Rising scaled the fences at Aintree and attempted to stop the Grand National. As stewards and fans intervened, the protest managed only to delay the race for 14 minutes. As if to help prove the protesters’ point, one of the horses in the race was killed in a fall.

As chief sports reporter Sean Ingle tells Nosheen Iqbal, it was followed just days later by a stunt by another activist group. This time the target was the World Snooker Championship; play was postponed when a Just Stop Oil protester managed to clamber on to the the snooker table and launch an orange powder bomb over proceedings. This weekend, all eyes will be on the London Marathon.

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One jailed and three others fined over Insulate Britain roadblock protest

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Four activists, who sat in the road at Bishopsgate in London in October 2021, were found guilty of causing a public nuisance

One protester has been jailed for five weeks and three others given fines and community service for their part in a protest to demand government action on insulation.

Daphne Jackson, 72, Beatrice Pooley, 65, and two protesters who have outstanding court cases sat in the road at the Bishopsgate junction in London during an Insulate Britain protest on 25 October 2021. The four were convicted of causing a public nuisance earlier this year and sentenced on Thursday.

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‘Frightening’: record-busting heat and drought hit Europe in 2022

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Continent set for further drought in 2023, scientists say, as unstoppable impacts of climate crisis mount

The climate crisis had “frightening” impacts in Europe last year, with heatwaves killing more than 20,000 people and drought withering crops, an EU report has found.

Its writers said drought was already baked in for many farmers in 2023. The only way to limit the rising damages of global heating was rapidly to cut carbon emissions, they said.

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Judge dismisses youth climate crisis lawsuit against Ontario government

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Judge says weak climate plans will increase risk of death for Canada’s young people but do not violate Charter rights

A judge has warned that Ontario’s weak climate plans will “increase the risk of death” for Canada’s young people – but dismissed a lawsuit brought by a group worried that government inaction on global heating threatens their futures.

Justice Marie-Andrée Vermette of Ontario superior court issued a decision on Tuesday that found that while both young people and Indigenous peoples bear the brunt of climate change, government failures to react were not a breach of their rights.

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‘They are despairing’: climate crisis weighs heavy on mental health of young Australians

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Report shows anxiety over the environment is prominent among teenagers, such as Ruby Bron who feels ‘helpless’ about future

Ruby Bron feels “helpless” and “anxiety-ridden” when she thinks about the future and the irreversible damage occurring because of the climate crisis.

The 17-year-old Sydney student says without drastic action to cut emissions, her generation will be left to deal with the climate crisis in an increasingly damaged and volatile world.

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Severe heatwave engulfs Asia causing deaths and forcing schools to close

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Extreme temperatures described as ‘worst April heatwave in Asian history’ as records threatened in India, China, Thailand and Laos

A severe heatwave has swept across much of Asia, causing deaths and school closures in India and record-breaking temperatures in China.

Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist and weather historian, described the unusually high temperatures as the “worst April heatwave in Asian history”.

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Scientists discover pristine deep-sea Galápagos reef ‘teeming with life’

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Diving to 600m, researchers find reefs full of octopus, lobster and fish, raising hopes for corals’ survival amid rising sea temperatures

Scientists operating a submersible have discovered deep-sea coral reefs in pristine condition in a previously unexplored part of the Galápagos marine reserve.

Diving to depths of 600 metres (1,970ft), to the summit of a previously unmapped seamount in the central part of the archipelago, the scientists witnessed a breathtaking mix of deep marine life. This has raised hopes that healthy reefs can still thrive at a time when coral is in crisis due to record sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification. It also showed the effectiveness of conservation actions and effective management, they said.

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Colorado River snaking through Grand Canyon most endangered US waterway – report

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Unique ecosystem on the brink of collapse due to climate crisis and mismanagement, says conservation group American Rivers

A 277-mile stretch of the Colorado River that snakes through the iconic Grand Canyon is America’s most endangered waterway, a new report has found.

The unique ecosystem and cultural heritage of the Grand Canyon is on the brink of collapse due to prolonged drought, rising temperatures and outdated river management, according to American Rivers, the conservation group which compiles the annual endangered list.

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EU faces legal action after including gas and nuclear in ‘green’ investments guide

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European Commission accused of acting unlawfully in two separate cases bought by environment groups

The European Commission is being sued by environmental campaigners over a decision to include gas and nuclear in an EU guide to “green” investments.

Two separate legal challenges are being lodged on Tuesday at the European Union’s general court in Luxembourg – one by Greenpeace and another by a coalition including Client Earth and WWF – after the classification of fuels in the so-called taxonomy, a guide for investors intended to channel billions into green technologies.

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Renewable energy growth must double to meet Australia’s emission goals, Clean Energy Council says

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More than 35% of Australia’s electricity last year was supplied by renewables, up from just under 17% in 2017

Australia’s renewable energy industry is growing at half the pace needed for the sector to meet the Albanese government’s emissions reduction goals, despite the sector having one of its best years, the Clean Energy Council said in its annual report.

Last year construction commenced on a record of more than 5,000MW of large-scale wind and solar farms. Work also started on 19 big batteries with 1,380MW/2,004MWh capacity, or almost half as large again as the previous record year in 2021, the council said.

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Dozens of climate activists arrested after shovelling coal from train bound for Newcastle

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Police charged about 50 protesters after coal train was brought to a standstill for four hours

Dozens of people have been arrested after protesters scaled a train bound for the Port of Newcastle and began shovelling coal out of its wagons.

The train was brought to a standstill a few kilometres from the port while passing Sandgate, near the Pacific Highway, about 10am on Sunday.

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Australia’s coming national electric vehicle strategy will be ‘quite ambitious’, experts say

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Chris Bowen is expected to introduce an EV and vehicle fuel efficiency standards policy next week

Australia’s long-awaited national electric vehicle strategy is expected to be released next week, finally detailing the introduction of pollution standards that should accelerate the uptake of electric cars.

Industry sources say the federal climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, will release the strategy ahead of an event in western Sydney on Wednesday.

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Lack of NI government puts net zero targets at risk, UK climate adviser warns

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Climate Change Committee says little hope of getting on track if Stormont power sharing not restored soon

The prolonged lack of devolved government in Northern Ireland threatens to seriously hamper the country’s ability to hit the ambitious emissions reduction targets enshrined by law in its climate act, the chief executive of the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) has said.

There has been no power-sharing government in place to advance work on meeting these commitments since Northern Ireland’s Climate Change Act, which includes a 2050 net zero target, was passed last spring.

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‘I’m all for climate change’: Axel Springer CEO faces heat over leaked messages

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Mathias Döpfner’s reported comments on climate, Muslims and east Germany – and his apparent political manoeuvring – create shock waves

The German CEO of Europe’s largest media publisher tried to use his flagship tabloid, Bild, to influence the outcome of Germany’s last election and fed the newspaper his personal views attacking climate change activism, Covid measures and the former chancellor Angela Merkel, leaked messages suggest.

The internal chats, emails and text messages published by the German weekly Die Zeit on Wednesday clash with the public presentation of Axel Springer SE’s chief executive, Mathias Döpfner, who recently said he wanted to bring “non-partisan” journalism to a too-polarised US media landscape through his acquisition of the English-language title Politico.

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‘Even in the realms of extreme, it’s extreme’: how UK music festivals are planning for freak weather

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Whether waterlogged from flooding or parched and prone to wildfires, festival sites are having to plan for every eventuality – and the costs are substantial

Wellies and sun hats are the traditional first guard against the elements at festivals, but this summer they may not be enough to protect revellers. Flood defences, wildfire response teams and satellite weather-monitoring technology are among the ways UK music festivals are adapting to extreme weather events fuelled by the climate crisis.

Last summer’s record high temperatures in the UK hit during festival season, and the changing climate has become one of the industry’s biggest challenges, increasing the frequency, severity and likelihood of weather such as heatwaves and thunderstorms. With preparations underway for this year’s festival season, event organisers are increasing their contingency plans to secure their events, at a time of higher costs in labour, energy and insurance.

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Greenhouse gas emissions rose at ‘alarming’ rate last year, US data shows

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Noaa report shows rapid increase in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide

Record temperatures, devastating floods and superstorms are causing death and destruction across the planet but humans are failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions fueling the climate emergency, new US data shows.

Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide – the greenhouse gases emitted by human activity that are the most significant contributors to global heating – continued to increase rapidly during 2022, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (Noaa).

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Businesses in north of England ask ministers for help to hit net zero

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Leaders of Drax, Siemens and others call for green growth to be a priority and ‘regional disparities’ to be closed

Business leaders in the north of England have written to the prime minister, chancellor and energy secretary asking for help to reach net zero.

Big names including Drax, Siemens, Peel, Manchester airport, the CBI and all 11 local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) in the north signed a letter urging the government to prioritise green growth in the north.

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Water ban in drought-stricken Tunisia adds to growing crisis

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Risk of unrest rises amid fourth dry year, poor grain harvest, weak economy and likely food subsidy cuts

Tunisia has introduced water rationing as the country suffers its fourth year of severe drought.

The state water distribution company, Sonede, has already begun cutting mains water supplies every night between 9pm and 4am. The agriculture ministry has now banned the use of water for irrigation, watering green spaces and other public areas, and for washing cars.

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Revealed: UAE plans huge oil and gas expansion as it hosts UN climate summit

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Exclusive: UAE’s fossil fuel boss will be the president of Cop28, making a mockery of the summit, say campaigners

The United Arab Emirates, which is hosting this year’s UN climate summit, has the third biggest net zero-busting plans for oil and gas expansion in the world, the Guardian can reveal. Its plans are surpassed only by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The CEO of the UAE’s national oil company, Adnoc, has been controversially appointed president of the UN’s Cop28 summit in December, which is seen as crucial with time running out to end the climate crisis. But Sultan Al Jaber is overseeing expansion to produce oil and gas equivalent to 7.5bn barrels of oil, according to new data, 90% of which would have to remain in the ground to meet the net zero scenario set out by the International Energy Agency.

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British cows could be given ‘methane blockers’ to cut climate emissions

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UK’s 9.4m cattle produce 14% of human-related emissions, mostly from belching, but green groups remain sceptical

Cows in the UK could be given “methane blockers” to reduce their emissions of the greenhouse gas as part of plans to achieve the country’s climate goals.

Farmers welcomed the proposal, which follows a consultation that began in August on how new types of animal feed product can reduce digestive emissions from the animals.

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